Altered Destiny
by Kraft58
Summary: Start of Saga 3, after receiving a new life and second chance, Blu intends to make the most of it, however things don't always go as planned.
1. Chapter 1: A new life

_**Chapter 1:**_

The wind bristled through Blu's wings as he fluttered to a stop in mid air. Up ahead, he could scarcely hear Jewel's quiet laughter amongst the trees. He didn't need to imagine what she was up too, for he knew full well that she would be in the middle of performing some sort of Ariel trick whether it be a summersault, flip, three sixty degree vertical spin, or some other request given off by the children as they completed their flying lessons for the day.  
He smiled as he thought about the progress they had made in such a short amount of time. In all but a few short months, the kids' skills had gone from lacklustre and being unable to leave the ground, to rebellious daredevils who needed to be told off every five minutes. Jewel's behaviour however, didn't seem to help matters. Whenever he intervened, telling about the dangers of not pulling up seconds before hitting the ground, or shifting through the trees at a break neck speed, Jewel would always tell him that he worried too much. Perhaps though, he did.

He closed his eyes and let his mind focus on his thoughts. These kids… his kids… who despite not being the same birds he once knew in the other reality, still held a special spot in his heart. He remembered what Maud said back in Cottonweed Forest, this new dimension would play out as everything was meant too, and every circumstance he'd been through now no longer existed. Still, they clung to his mind, and he no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't forget about them.

"Rose… Rico… Maud…" he smiled as he let their names slip past his beak for the first time in months. His friends and allies whom he fought along side to save numerous worlds still brought a tear to his eye.  
"Buster… Kinski… Jew-"

Before he could speak again, a large blunt object struck him in the back. He arched forward, dropping a few millimetres before regaining his composure. He turned back and let his smile deepen.

"Haha, very funny." He said in an almost sarcastic tone. "I heard you coming a mile away."

Jewel who now fluttered down to his level, giggled for a moment, before turning to peer at the three children who studied her every movement.

"See, told you." Bia frowned. "Dad is one of the smartest birds around."

"No fair…" Tiago sighed, rolling his eyes. "I wanted to see something awesome."

"That won't happen," Carla mused shoving her younger brother playfully with her wing. "This place is too lame… nothing interesting ever happens around here."

"I wouldn't say that." Jewel grinned, peering playfully at Blu. "The best day of my life was when I met you father."

"Gag me!" Carla groaned, sticking her tongue out in disgust, stopping when she noticed the stunned faces of her brother and sister. "No seriously, gag me!"

"If you want excitement, you've come to the right place." Blu said, stretching his wings as he revealed the city for the very first time that evening the bright golden sunset painting the sky and buildings a majestic scarlet almost emphasizing his point. "We're home!"

* * *

# # #

* * *

As the macaws headed home, a lone figure watched them with a curious eye. Dressed underneath a hood, his beak curled into a wicked smile.

"So they're back." He mused. "It's about time."

"Indeed." Another voice spoke out softly. "Those birds are really important to our plans."

The hooded figure shifted his attention beside him, to see the sudden appearance of his partner, a much smaller though similarly dressed bird.

"They're useful toys aren't they?" he said. "We must learn the secrets of what lies within his mind."

"You mean the other world?" The second bird queried. "I do believe we already know everything there is to know about it."

"No!" The first bird said. "We must figure out why he hasn't forgotten. He belongs to neither world, and yet holds ties to both. We can use that to our advantage..."

"How?"

"That is all part of the game." The first bird mused. "A game which will only end, when I say it does."

"What do you want me to do?" The second bird queried.

"Follow him, and keep hidden. I want to know every move he makes. He'll wake up tomorrow to the nightmare of his life."


	2. Chapter 2 Injured

_**Chapter 2:**_

The early morning hours brought with it not only a pleasant summer's warmth, but clear skies and a comfortable breeze as well. Needless to say that the Gunderson family took it upon themselves to continue the children's flight training, and so as quickly as the sun had begun to rise upon the horizon, Jewel found herself dragging the kids out, to continue on with their lessons.

"Okay, now listen, don't fly to fast, don't do any dangerous stunts, and above all, keep your eyes straight and your minds focused." Blu instructed, pacing back and forth, his beak curled as he began to worry. "Did I mention everything… should I mention that they should beware of stray breezes or…?"

"Oh you worry too much!" Jewel piped in, flying in front of him and planting a comforting kiss upon the end of his beak. "Just go up there, and have fun. You need to exercise, strengthen those muscles, and above all let yourselves be birds."

The kids cheered as they took to the skies, flying as fast as their little wings would carry them.

"Be careful!" Blu called up. "Remember to avoid any contact with unpredictable changing wind patterns."

Jewel wrapped her mate up with her wings and planted a second kiss on the end of his beak. She smiled and peered into his chocolate brown eyes.

"They're fine!" She reassured him. "Believe me, nothing bad will happen to them."

Blu swallowed a large lump of anxiety in his throat. As much as he wanted to admit to himself that Jewel knew what she was talking about, his past experiences continued to creep into his mind. Somehow he recalled having his wing broken, and needing the blood orchid to fix it. He could feel the stinging of the poison as it soaked into his blood stream, and the overwhelming sense of cold which crept through his entire body as the life drained from him… but more importantly he remembered the look upon Nigel's face as he took in the sheer delight of making him suffer, as he slowly cut the nerves which would keep him from flying for the next few years… strange, since that all happened in the alternate reality, which now was supposed to exist only as a piece of a fragmented dream… and yet he remembered it in a strange amount of detail.

"I guess," he said finally, lowering his glance to peer into the eyes of his mate. He forced a smile, "I'm just a bit over protective I guess."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Jewel sighed, wrapping her wings tighter around his body. "You're a good father, Pet."

# # #

As Blu and Jewel lost themselves in each other's embrace, the dark hooded figure forced a wicked smile. Peering straight up, he studied the children for a solitary minute before proceeding to his work. With a single wing he revealed a dark blue feather, belonging to the male macaw.

"And let the games begin." He said in a flat emotionless tone. He twisted the stalk from the feather, watching the pointed end snap. In that moment, everything in the area changed. A cold chill lurked through the clearing, unnoticed to all except those who were aware of its presence. At that moment, only he himself seemed to acknowledge its existence. As he turned his back on the group of birds, his smile deepened. "Let the threads of destiny unbind themselves!"

He shifted his attention back to Blu and Jewel only once, before proceeding on his way. "It really is a shame. You're probably the one creature I wanted to meet face to face. We could have had so much fun together."

As the hooded creature began to leave, a shout erupted through the clearing. He turned back, startled by the blood curtailing sound. What it actually was, was Bia falling from the sky, landing with a sickening thud. The young female macaw twitched for a moment, peering down at her wing. It took only a few moments to notice the large bulge coming from the feather column.

"Amusing." He said, "So the little macaw has broken her wing. I will admit, I didn't see that one coming."

# # #

As quickly as Bia had fallen from the sky, Blu lunged to her side and assisted her. Within seconds his eyes had focused upon the problem. He could see the unmistakable outline of a bone sticking up from the feather column. As he focused on it, his mind flashed full of visions of his own injury. His jaw dropped as the truth sank into his mind.

"They're exactly the same!" he told himself with disbelief. "The break, it's in the exact same spot."

"Bia, what happened?" Jewel asked.

"I don't know." The young macaw winced in pain. "One minute I was flying the next minute I'm falling to the ground."

"It's the stress on her joint." Blu explained, "Her bones aren't strong enough yet, they couldn't take the pressure."

"Says you!" Jewel snapped at him. "Why should I trust a pet who hasn't been flying for his entire life?"

Blu's jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me!" Jewel screeched. "You have no idea what happened up there, any more than I do! You should have been watching her."

"I was" Blu replied, lowering his head.

"No, you weren't!" Jewel screeched, her face darkening with rage. "If you would have been watching her, none of this would have happened."

Before Blu could speak again, Jewel spun around and glared at him. "You're not welcome to join us in our practices anymore."

"What?" Blu gasped.

"You heard me, Pet. You're not stupid." She told him. "You aren't welcome to be a part of our practices any more. Be thankful you are still a member of this family. Now go home! I'll take care of the children."

Hidden from sight, the hooded creature let his smile widen further. He peered down at the broken feather in his wing.

"With just one broken feather, I created a wedge between those two, and dealt with one of the kids."

He chuckled for a moment, discarding the feather. "Interesting, and to think, this game has only just begun."

* * *

Author's Notes: Looks like things are bad for Blu and Jewel... who are these hooded figures, and just what are they up too?


	3. Chapter 3: New Targets

_**Chapter 3:**_

Blu fluttered to a low branch of a tree, wiping the tears from his eyes. He couldn't begin to make sense of what had just happened. However, Jewel's anger towards him, stabbed him through the heart. There hadn't even been any reason towards it, Bia's injury in all outward appearances had been an accident regardless of the similarities between her wing and his. Still, a aching pain in his heart drew him to the conclusion that Jewel simply overreacted. Despite that however, Blu focused on his wing which had at one time been broken. His heart sank as he spoke the words he didn't want to admit.

"Jewel was right"

He shook his head, shaking doubt from his mind. He couldn't believe he said those words. His mind didn't even comprehend that circumstance. All evidence pointed to the incident as an accident. Where did this doubt come from? Why was it clouding over his mind? Why did it pull at his heart and threaten to tear him apart? Why did it plague him and make him question as to whether or not he was a good father? He'd never hurt them. He'd never raised a wing to them. Sure they may be a bit spontaneous, but Jewel herself said he was a good father.

"That's right she did." He told himself, trying hard to clear his mind. "Jewel always told me I was a great dad."

The more his mind tried to focus on those words, the more he realized, he couldn't remember Jewel saying those things. At first, they had been there drawing his doubt away from him, but then as if by magic they were gone. Did he imagine her saying those things about him? As hard as he tried he couldn't focus, his mind felt like it drowned in a heavy mist. His old memories from the other world, and his new ones clashed together, mixing so he couldn't even begin to tell which was real and which wasn't. He fell face down to the branch, covering his head with his wings. He could feel something weird wrapping him tighter in its grasp. It drained his mind with each passing second.

"What's happening to me?"

"Blu, are you alright?" Blu peered up to see a familiar face fluttering over to him. He recognised him as Roberto, another Spix macaw whom he met just a short time ago. "Blu, my man, you don't look so good."

Blu watched the handsome spix macaw hold out a wing to help him up. However he didn't accept it. He stared past him, to a hooded figure.

"Who are you?" Blu asked, shouting at the top of his lungs. Quickly he pulled out his trusted pocket spork, and raised it ready to defend himself, however as quickly as he blinked, the figure had vanished.

"Are you okay?" Roberto asked, arching a suspicious eyebrow.

"Yes," Blu nodded. "I'm fine."

"Good, because you just started yelling all of a sudden." Roberto reminded him. "That ain't normal."

"There was someone…" Blu pointed.

"Someone?" Roberto turned to face the direction Blu indicated, his eyes narrowed into dangerous pools. "Who?"

"I don't know," Blu cringed. "I've never seen him before… however he looked just like a member of the Dark Robed Society."

"The who?" Roberto asked, eyeing him with his peripheral vision.

"They're trouble." Blu explained. "They were a group of evil birds who loved to kill and murder. I stopped them while I was in another world."

"uh-huh" Roberto backed away slowly. "I don't believe a word of that, however, if there is a stranger in the jungle, I should warn the rest of the flock."

Blu nodded his head. "Warn them that they could all be in extreme danger. These guys are not to be underestimated."

* * *

# # #

* * *

Roberto landed next to Jewel and stretched out a wind to pull her into a warm hug. "Hey there, Ju-Ju." He smiled.

"Beto." Jewel replied, freeing herself from his grasp. In that moment, Roberto grew more serious.

"I just ran into Blu." He pointed out. "He said some stuff, that had me more than a little worried."

"Such as?" Jewel arched a curious eyebrow.

Roberto cleared his throat. "Ahem-hem, right. He looked like he was losing his mind. I found him collapsed on a tree branch, and when I tried to help him, he claimed to have seen someone."

"Who?" Jewel asked, growing more than a little worried.

"I don't know, I didn't see anyone, but Blu said he reminded him of someone who belonged to the Dark Robed Society, does that name mean anything to you Ju-Ju?"

"No," Jewel shook her head. "I've never heard of them before."

"I thought so." Roberto nodded. "But then again, Blu mentioned he defeated them in another world."

"Another world?" Jewel echoed, growing more than a little concerned.

"Yes," Roberto nodded. "I think he may need some help. Maybe we should take him to see Mimi."

Jewel nodded her head. "I'll take him there, will you please help Bia, she injured herself."

"Of course," Roberto nodded his head. "But be careful, we still don't know if he's right."

Jewel nodded her head, spreading her wings and taking flight. She never looked back. Instead her mind filled with fear.

"Where are you, Pet?" She asked picking up speed.

* * *

# # #

* * *

As Jewel took off, a hooded figure emerged from the trees. He let a wicked smile pass upon the end of his beak.

"Looks like I have found our next move." He grinned. "Hopefully our little macaw friend can handle it, because things are about to get a lot worse."


End file.
